(Wow, this has got to be one of the longest chapters I have ever written for this story. It took me about four or five hours to write. For those of you who can stand reading this much at once, I hope you enjoy it.)

Chapter 28:

“Where are we going next?” Quistis asked as they stood on the bridge, thinking of their next plan of action.

Suddenly, the elevator brought Selphie up to the bridge. “Hello, s’cuse me!”

“What is it?” Squall asked.

“Have you decided on a destination?”

“Not yet.” Tylor told her.

“Um… Can we maybe go to Trabia Garden? It’s like… in the mountains, so maybe the sorceress will leave it alone. But maybe… You know?” Trabia Garden was the Garden Selphie went to before she was transferred to Balamb for the SeeD exams. It was also the first target for the missiles.

Tylor looked at Squall and said, “I don’t see why not.”

Squall nodded and said, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Thanks.” Selphie waved as the elevator went back down.

Quistis sighed, “Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin… Seems like yesterday that they were part of this Garden.”

“If we run into them again, we’ll have to fight.” Tylor told them. “I know it’s tough, but we can’t let our emotions get in the way of our goal.” He looked at Squall. “So, what’s our heading?”

“Set a course for Trabia Garden.”

“Yes, sir!” Nida said as he started to move the Garden.

Tylor told them, “I’m still exhausted from our last battle. If anyone needs me, I’ll be asleep in my room.” He rode the elevator down to Cid’s office and took the main one down to the lobby.

When he got to his room he unstrapped his swords from his back and jumped onto his bed. As he slowly drifted to sleep he couldn’t stop thinking about what happened in Balamb, when his swords fused together with his arm.

He woke up later in a white space. Everywhere he looked there was nothing. There wasn’t even a floor for him to stand on; he just floated in the air. He had never seen this place before, but somehow it felt familiar.

He tried to call out to anyone who might hear him. “Hello!?” His voice echoed on and on until it faded to nothing.

“You called?”

Tylor turned around and saw two men floating in front of him. The man on the left had short white hair and wore 15th century clothing. Bandages hung from his arms and shoulders. The man on the right was more up to date with his clothing. He wore a vest, black jeans and white running shoes. From top to bottom, the entire right side of his face and body was machine.

Tylor stared at these men. Almost instinctively he knew who they were. “Armageddon? Apocalypse?”

They both nodded. Armageddon, the one on the right, said, “You are correct, Daimon.” His voice was metallic, the voice of a machine. But when he spoke his mouth did not move.

Apocalypse, the one on the left, said, “Or should we say Tylor, since that is what your friends call you.” His voice echoed with the age of hundreds of years. His mouth didn’t move when he spoke either.

Tylor looked around at the white space. “Where am I?”

Armageddon told him, “This is our home, the area in your mind that we live in.”

Apocalypse added, “Until recently this place has been closed off to the rest of your mind. After what happened in Balamb we were finally able to make contact with you.”

“What was that back there?” Tylor asked. “I’ve never felt anything like that before. Not just the power. It felt like I was three different people in one body.”

Armageddon explained, “Our bodies became one. In that form we were able to channel our powers through you. Whenever you use the Demon Killer strike the power you received resonated from within your own body.”

“When we fused the power you received came from all three of us. If we hadn’t been in control of how much power you used, not only would you have killed Fujin and Raijin, you would have destroyed half of Balamb.”

Tylor was shocked. “You mean I could have destroyed half of the town?”

Armageddon shook his head. “No, half of the continent of Balamb. That is what you are capable of if you use all of our power.”

Apocalypse explained, “In time, you will learn to control this new power without our help. And when you do, new abilities will be available to use. It is what our creator wanted when she forged us.”

“Who’s your creator?” Tylor asked.

“The same person who freed you.” Apocalypse explained. “Sorceress Elena.”

Before he could ask anything else he was forced out of the white space of his mind and back into his body. He found himself back in his bed in his room. Judging by his clock, he had spent half the day asleep.

He sat up and rested his head on his hands. “Sorceress Elena? There’s another one now?”

A few hours later they arrived at Trabia Garden. Tylor, Squall, Irvine and Zell had left first to investigate. The damage was severe. The missiles had almost completely obliterated the Garden. It was more than a wonder that it was still standing.

As they approached they came to a wooden fence that surrounded the perimeter.

“Looks pretty bad.” Squall said. Selphie showed up and ran up to the fence. “Selphie!”

She looked around the fence, trying to look through the gaps. She sighed, “A direct… hit?”

“…Man, this really pisses me off!” Zell shouted.

Selphie backed up and looked at the top of the fence. “…I’m going in.”

“Be careful.” Squall told her.

She nodded and began climbing a net hanging on the side of the fence. Tylor and the others followed her up the net.

Once on the other side Selphie ran off to help her friends. Trabia Garden looked worse up close. The roads were torn up, structures were knocked down, trees were de-rooted, and the main building was in ruin. The only thing that made this worse is the fact that Trabia did nothing to deserve this.

“Squall!” Rinoa and Quistis had climbed over the fence. As they approached, Quistis said, “We’re looking for Selphie…”

“Any idea where she went?” Rinoa asked.

Tylor told them, “Yeah, she ran off ahead.”

Irvine turned to Tylor. “I bet you she’s in shock…”

“No, really? What gave you that idea?” Tylor’s voice was a bit too bitter, even to him.

Zell told him, “Hey, don’t get mad at Irvine! It’s not his fault?”

Tylor sighed. “Sorry, I’m just a little frustrated.” He looked at the ruin that lay before him. “Trabia did nothing to deserve this…”

Irvine patted Tylor’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Now come on, let’s go after her.”

They found Selphie talking to one of her friends from Trabia Garden. She looked at Squall and said, “So you’ve been looking after Selphie?”

“Not really.”

“Oh, don’t worry about him.” Selphie said. “That’s just the way he is.”

Her friend suggested, “Maybe it’s his way of hiding his feelings for you?”

“Yeah! Right on!”

Squall crossed his arms and looked away, a little irritated.

Selphie told everyone, “There should be a basketball court in the back. Wait for me there, OK? I want to go catch up with some of my friends.”

“Alright, we’ll see you in a bit.” Squall said.

The others went to the basketball court, but Tylor snuck off while they weren’t looking. If he saw first hand what the missiles did, maybe it would give him something to fight for.

He came across a makeshift graveyard. Fresh tombstones littered the ground in an un-orderly fashion. He bent down to look at one of the graves. The owner of this grave had been 17 when he died. His gun rested against the tombstone.

Tylor put his hand on the stone. What if he had left the prison earlier and gone to the missile base himself? Would he have stopped this from happening? Would it have disrupted the flow of time?

He knew this was going to happen. He knew that if he could go back in time he wouldn’t have changed a thing. His first priority had been to save his friends. There was nothing he could do for these people, except to get revenge for them.

He got up and made his way to the basketball court. On his way he found Selphie helping one of the injured students.

“Selphie!” Two children ran up to her. The boy said, “I’m sorry, Selphie! Can you forgive us?”

“What? Why? Why are you apologizing?”

“That teddy bear you gave me… I couldn’t save it!”

The girl rubbed her eyes, as if she had been crying. “I can hear him crying… He’s lonely!”

“My teddy bear’s a lot stronger than you think!” Selphie assured them. “As long as you’re all safe, Mr. Bear’s very happy.” She stopped for a moment to listen. “Heeey! I can hear him! Mr. Bear’s watching over you secretly.” The children looked around for a moment. Selphie told them, “So don’t be naughty or sad all the time! Just remember, Mr. Bear is watching you!”

Tylor waited for them to leave before approaching Selphie. She saw him and said, “Just give me a sec, I’ll be at the basketball court in a minute.”

Tylor nodded and left. He wanted to say something, to tell her how he admired the way she was staying strong. But, he knew that she already knew what he thought of her, he had seen it in her eyes.

Tylor saw the others waiting for him in the basketball court. The ground was just as bad as the rest of the place. It was a wonder the baskets were still standing.

Squall told him, “We’re leaving as soon as Selphie comes back. We’re on standby ‘til then.” Tylor nodded and went to lean against one of the fences.

As they waited they all had something to say. Tylor just listened because he had nothing to say.

Rinoa: “You know… ever since I met all of you, I’ve been doing some thinking. I can’t stop thinking about it… I can’t come up with an answer, either.”

Zell: “Why did the sorceress come into the picture all of a sudden? Was she actually waiting for this opportunity? Hmm… Wonder if she was living a normal life before all of this?”

Quistis: “Why the search for Ellone…? Ellone… inviting Squall back to the past, whereas the sorceress searches for it… Could it be the sorceress is trying to make that journey into the past, too?”

Irvine: “I’ve gotta do somethin’ to show that Selphie can depend on me!”

A basketball rolled onto the court. Selphie showed up then. “Sorry to keep you waiting!” She looked at everyone and said, “Thanks so much for coming all the way out here, everyone.”

“Cheer up, eh?” Irvine told her. Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Thanks.” She turned to face Squall. “Take me with you when you fight the sorceress, OK? I wanna get even. I want my revenge!”

Rinoa walked up to Selphie. “Um… Do we… have to fight? Isn’t there another way? Y’know, to avoid any bloodshed?”

Tylor wanted to say something, to tell her there was no other way. But they were going to be having a long conversation that led to many revelations. He wasn’t part of their past, it wasn’t his place to say anything right now.

Zell stood up from the bench he was sitting on. “You!? What the…!? What are you sayin’ all of a sudden!?”

“Maybe someone really smart can come up with a way, so we wouldn’t have to fight anymore…”

Squall looked away. He had that usual look on his face that meant he was deep in thought. Everyone else began to notice.

Rinoa approached him. “Squall? You have to voice your feelings or else I won’t understand.”

He sighed. “You were… part of a resistance movement in Timber, right? Unlike others who were all talk, you took to your weapons and fought. And now you’re saying all this? What happened to you?”

She sighed and placed a hand on her chest. “I guess… I’m getting scared. Sometimes… when I’m with all of you, I… feel like we’re on the same wavelength… you know? But when the battles start happening, it’s different. Everyone’s tempo seems to pick up and… I get left behind. I try to catch up, but it’s no use. How far is everyone going” I can’t hear anyone… Once I catch up, I wonder… is everyone safe? Will they welcome me with open arms? … Is everyone OK? Will we make it back together? When I start thinking like that…”

Irvine walked up to her. “Rinoa, I understand. Someone might not be there. Someone you love may disappear before your very eyes. It’s tough when you live your life thinking that way. But that’s why I fight…” He picked up the basketball and spun it on his finger. “When I was a little kid… I was about 4 or so…” He tossed the ball at the basket and missed. “I was in an orphanage. Plenty of kids, all with no parents… It was around the end of the Sorceress War, so I guess it couldn’t be helped. Anyway, that’s where I was. And out of all the kids there, one was very special to me. I really liked this girl, and it made me so happy just talking to her.”

Selphie walked up to Irvine. “Was that orphanage… a stone house?”

“You guessed it…”

“An old house made of stone? …By the ocean?” Quistis asked.

“You guessed it. I knew right away, when we first met!”

Selphie: “Hey, why didn’t you tell us!?”

Quistis: “Yeah! Why didn’t you tell us!?”

“’Cause you two seemed to have forgotten!” Irvine explained. “It just kinda sucked that I was the only one who remembered… Spunky little Sefie and bossy little Quisty.”

“That is just sooo weird…” Selphie said.

Zell asked, “Hey… Do you guys remember setting off fireworks?”

“That’s right, we set them off on the beach.” Irvine said.

“The ocean! The lighthouse!” Zell shouted, as if finally remember something he had forgotten long ago.

Quistis said, “We did set off fireworks!”

“If I remember this, does that mean I was there, too?” Zell asked.

“…We all got in big trouble.” Quistis pointed out.

“Then… what about my parents in Balamb…?”

“The Dinchts in Balamb must have adopted you.”

“Yep, that’s probably it.” Irvine said.

“I… was there…”

“One of the other orphans used to tease Zell all the time.” Irvine pointed out.

Surprised flashed through Quistis’ eyes when she remembered. “Oh my goodness!” At that moment they all seemed to remember.

Zell uttered, “Seifer… my archenemy…”

“WOW! He was there, too!” Selphie exclaimed.

“Seifer was there, too.” Irvine said as he leaned against the court’s basket. “Except for Rinoa and Tylor, we were all there.”

Selphie gasped. “Heeey, that means…” Everyone stared at Squall.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're half-way done, take a break.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Yeah… I was there, too.” He sighed as he began to explain. “I was always waiting for ‘Sis’ to come back.” A looked went through his eyes, as if he had just remembered something important. “So, Ellone was ‘Sis’. She was a bit older than us, and we all used to call her ‘Sis’. Quistis, Zell, Selphie, Irvine, Seifer, Ellone and myself… Yeah… I’m not sure what the meaning behind all this is, but we were definitely together.”

“You mean, Sis is Ellone?” Zell asked.

Selphie pointed out, “She’s the one that takes us back to Laguna’s period.”

Squall said, “…She said she wanted to change the past. I don’t know why…”

Quistis crossed her arms. “There can only be one reason for that.”

“She must not be happy with the present.” Selphie finished.

Zell said, “If that’s the case, I’m definitely up for helpin’ her! She’s part of our orphanage gang!”

“You didn’t even remember who she was!” Selphie pointed out.

Irvine told her, “Hey, Selphie… That goes for you, too!”

“It’s pretty scary we’ve forgotten all these things…” Quistis said.

Zell sighed, “So, Ma and Pa aren’t my real parents…”

“I wonder where the orphanage is…?” Selphie asked.

“Hmm… So, Sis was Ellone, eh?” Irvine looked at Squall. “Everyone was fond of Sis, but you, Squall, you kept hoggin’ her for yourself.”

“You sure have a good memory…” Squall said. He looked around at everyone. “…This is really strange. I don’t think I was adopted because of the way I am.”

Irvine pointed out, “Probably the same with Seifer, too. You two must have been at Garden by the age of 5 or so…”

“Even so, he’s never mentioned anything about growing up in an orphanage. And nothing about this has ever crossed my mind when I see him, either. Don’t you find that odd…?”

“That IS strange…!” Selphie said. “In my case, I had loads and loads of fun after going to Trabia. That’s probably why I forgot all about my childhood. That’s what I think. But I don’t know what’s up with you guys! It’s so odd that you would forget!”

Quistis combed her hair out of her eyes. “I… remember. Yes, I remember now. Things didn’t work out too well at my new home. So I came to Garden at the age of 10. That was when I first noticed Seifer and Squall. They were always fighting.”

Squall looked at her. “Yeah… Quistis always used to break us up.”

“Yes! That’s right!” She crossed her arms. “Seifer was a kid who always needed to be the center of attention. But Squall always used to ignore him… But eventually they would end up fighting. Squall could have easily walked away from it, but always took up the challenge. He should’ve just ignored him, but Squall, almost in tears, would say, ‘I gotta do my best by myself. Or else I won’t be able to see Sis.’ I guess I was trying to take Sis… I mean, Ellone’s place. I tried, but to no avail… That’s probably it! Even after becoming an instructor, I couldn’t stop thinking about Squall. I thought it was… love. I had to hide my feelings because I was an instructor, but I’ve come to realize it wasn’t. It was my childhood feelings as a big sister that lingered…” She sighed, “Oh well…” Something flickered across her eyes. “Hey! It must be the same for Seifer! I’m sure Seifer has forgotten his childhood, too. But whenever he sees Squall, his inner feelings start to boil, and…”

Zell asked, “Is that why he’s always pickin’ fights with Squall?”

“…Why is it that we forgot?” Squall asked. “We grew up together as kids… How’s that possible…?”

Irvine pushed away from the pole he was leaning on. “How about this? The price we pay for using the GF. The GF provides us its power, but because of the chip it makes its own place inside out brain…”

Quistis asked, “So you’re saying that the area is where our memories are stored? No…! That’s just a rumor the GF critics are spreading.”

“So if we keep relying on the GF, we won’t be able to remember a lot of things?” Zell asked.

Quistis said, “There’s no way Headmaster Cid would allow such a dangerous thing!”

“Then how is it that I remember, while everyone else has forgotten?” Irvine asked. “Well…?” He adjusted his hat and said, “In my case, I hadn’t junctioned a GF until recently. That’s why I remember a lot more than you guys.”

Quistis looked at Selphie and asked, “How about you, Selphie? Your first experience with the GF was when you came to Balamb Garden, right?”

“…Yeah.” She thought for a moment before saying, “I have a confession to make! When I was 12, I went on an outdoor training session. I found a GF inside of the monsters I defeated… I junctioned that GF for a while. So I have experience with GF, too. But… but, it’s really weird! I can’t even remember the name of that GF!”

“It must be the GF’s fault.” Quistis said. “…What should we do?”

Squall said, “What do we do? …Nothing.”

“What do you mean nothing!?” Zell shouted.

“So what do you want to do? You wanna stop using GF now? As long as we continue fighting, we’re indebted to the powers of the GF. If there’s a price I have to pay for that, I’ll gladly pay it.”

Selphie jumped around. “Heeey, I know! Let’s all keep a diary! That way we’ll always have something to remind us!”

“Are you sure that’s what you want!?” Zell asked. He sighed and said, “Maybe… that’s for the best. Yeah… I don’t care if I forget about my childhood, when Seifer used to pick on me. What’s important to me now is having the power to protect my parents in Balamb. They adopted me, there’s no way I’m lettin’ go of that power!”

They were all quiet for a few minutes. Quistis was the first to break that silence. “Hey… Do you all remember Matron?”

Zell said, “She was always wearin’ black…”

Selphie thought for a second. “Let’s see…”

Zell pointed out, “Now that I remember, I see a resemblance. Matron… They look alike…”

“Wait… I just pictured her face, and…” Selphie trailed off.

Quistis said, “Very kind… Long black hair… Yes, I really admired her.”

“Look alike?” Irvine said, “Nah, that’s not it. Matron’s name is Edea Kramer.” He get everyone a hard look. “Matron IS Sorceress Edea.”

Everyone went quiet. The tension was thick enough to cut a knife with. Selphie said, “Matron… Sorceress Edea…”

“Why is the Matron…?” Quistis trailed off.

“Why?” Irvine asked. “You’re wondering why Matron would take over a country, or fire missiles and whatnot? At this point, we probably wouldn’t comprehend it even if we talked about it.” He crossed his arms. “…Hear me out. SeeD and Garden were all Matron’s idea, right? I’m not a SeeD, but I share the same feelings with all of you. SeeDs are supposed to fight the sorceress, right?” Squall put a hand on his forehead and began to think. “Squall, you listening? So like… this is what I wanted to say.” He looked at his feet. “Let’s see… Oh yeah. I understand what Rinoa’s saying. I understand, but still I’m gonna fight. I want to stay true to everything I‘ve stood for. I’m sure it’s the same for everyone. That’s why I thought it’s be best if everyone knew we would have to face Matron. You’ve all heard this before, how life has infinite possibilities. I don’t believe that one bit. There weren’t many paths for me to choose. Sometimes, there would only be one. From the limited possibilities I faced, the choices I made have brought me this far. That’s why I value the path I chose… I want to hold true to the path that HAD to be taken. I know our opponent is Matron, whom we all love very much. We might lose something very important on account of the GF. But I don’t mind. It’s not like I drifted here on the tides of fate. I’m here because I chose to be here. And more importantly, we all grew up together. But due to various circumstances, we were all separated. As a kid, you couldn’t really go out on your own. There were no other paths to take… All I did was just cry.”

“But…” He flicked the tip of his hat. “Somehow, we’re together again. Just like old times, though a lot’s changed. We’re not kids anymore… We’re strong enough to take care of ourselves. Make our own decisions… We’re confronting a big one right now. Do we fight Matron or not…? I say we fight, shoot for a common goal… Hey, at least it’ll keep us together a little longer.”

Somewhere during the conversation Zell had sat down on the ground. He got to his feet and said, “…Yeah. Let’s do it. We can’t run from her for the rest of our lives.”

Selphie looked at the ground. “It’s just such a bummer… I can’t believe we have to fight Matron.”

Quistis walked over to her. “I know… But Zell’s right. We can’t run from her forever.”

“Rinoa…” They all looked at Squall. “It’s up to you. We’re gonna fight… I think it’s the only way we can more on with our lives. If that makes any sense at all, come with us. I’m sure that’s what everybody wants.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

She was silent for a moment. Something in the sky caught Selphie’s attention. “Look! Look!” Snow gently fell from the clouds. “A gift from the faeries!”

“Yo, you wanna go check out Edea’s orphanage?” Zell asked.

“We might find a clue.” Irvine suggested.

Quistis said, “Clue? You mean as to why Matron turned out like this?”

Squall took a few steps away from the group. “Despite what truth we find, it’s not going to change the present. But…” He looked at everyone. “I wanna see, too. I don’t know what we’ll find, but… Let’s head for Edea’s house.”

Selphie asked, “Wait! What about Tylor?” Everyone looked at him. He had been listening intently to their conversation. When they finally addressed him he was a little startled. “Are you going to fight with us, too?”

“Hey…” Zell pointed out, “You’ve never told us that much about your past, when you were at Galbadia Garden.”

Irvine told everyone, “Tylor never attended Galbadia Garden, he was lying.”

“How long have you known, Irvine?” Squall asked.

“Ever since I first saw him I knew he wasn’t part of my Garden. It wasn’t just the fact that I had never seen him before. There was something about him, something that set him apart from everyone else. It wasn’t the size of his swords or the look in his eyes, but like, it came from inside.”

Quistis said, “When the headmaster of Galbadia Garden looked for Tylor’s files he didn’t find anything.”

Squall looked at Tylor. “Why did you lie to us?”

Tylor sighed and pushed himself away from the fence. “Because you wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth. And now, after everything that’s happened, I’m not sure even I believe it anymore.”

“Tell us the truth, Tylor.” Rinoa said. The look in her eyes was soft and understanding, like she would believe anything he would tell her. “You don’t have to keep any more secrets from us.”

Tylor closed his eyes. “…I’m not from this world.” Everyone gave him a strange look. He made a weak laugh. “Even coming out of my own mouth it sounds weird.” He raised his gaze to meet everyone else’s. “Before I any of this started, I was just a normal kid. I didn’t attend any kind of mercenary school. I went to a normal one, where they teach you how to use your head, not your muscles. One day I came home and turned on a video game. I was sucked into the T.V. and ended up in front of Balamb Garden, exactly where Zell found me.” He couldn’t look into anyone’s eyes as he said the next part. “I’m not psychic. I just say I am to look less suspicious. I don’t know that something is going to happen before it happens, I already know because I’ve seen it happen before on in my game. The day I showed up was the day the game starts.”

Quistis asked, “So that day when you saw me in the Infirmary and flipped out…”

Tylor nodded. “I was afraid because at that moment I believed, without a doubt, I was inside my game.”

Zell asked, “And everything else that’s been happening, you always knew they would happen before they did?”

Tylor nodded.

Selphie asked, “If you knew all this would happen, why didn’t you say something? With that knowledge we could have stopped all this from happening.”

“The knowledge I have, if held in the wrong hands, it would be like giving a time machine to somebody who didn’t know how to use it. I was careful all this time not to change anything in the future because I was afraid of the ramifications it would cause.” He gave everyone a serious look. “And besides, before now would any of you have believed me?”

“So… you knew all this would happen and you didn’t tell us because you were afraid it would make things worse?”

Tylor sighed and watched the snowflakes as they fluttered to the ground. “Not everything that’s happened has gone according to plan. Xemnas, the man I fought in Deling City, and Eric from the past were never meant to exist. When I played the game for the first time, they never showed up in the story, they didn’t exist. Because of this, I think what I have just told you all is just a lie and I don’t know it. Maybe the life I had before was the false one, and that this world is the real world. Ever since our first trip into the past on our way to our first mission I have been thinking non-stop about it. No matter where I look, I can’t find the answers. It’s… frustrating.”

“That must be awful,” Rinoa said, “to be taken from your home and family and think that maybe they never existed.”

“For all I know, I probably don’t have a past.” Tylor turned to face everyone. “But I’m not going to worry about it anymore. If I dwell in the past, I’ll never be able to move forward into the future. It doesn’t matter who or what I was before all this happened. The only thing that matters is you guys. In the time that we’ve spent together, I’ve been feeling like we were a family, maybe the only family I’ve ever had, or ever will have. I will fight to keep it that way, I’ll follow you all wherever you go.” He began to walk out of the basketball court. “Now let’s go to Edea’s house.”

As they filed out of the court Tylor saw Squall and Rinoa staying behind. The others filed around him as he stopped to watch.

“I guess that’s it… we’re fighting.” Rinoa sighed. “…You guys are fearless.”

“I wish we didn’t have to fight, either.”